View full sizeVehicles
built at the Mercedes-Benz auto assembly plant in Vance are shown here
in the facility's marshaling yard, where they are in line to be shipped
to markets around the world. (The Birmingham News / Joe Songer )

Alabama
exports are bouncing back this year after plummeting in 2009, with the
turnaround being driven by a resurgence in the state's auto industry.

Through April, the value of state-made goods shipped around the world
was nearly $4.8 billion, a 32 percent improvement over the same time
period last year.

Auto exports alone account for more than
$1.3 billion, or more than a quarter, of that total, surging 65 percent
from a year ago, according to data from the Alabama Development
Office's International Trade Division.

The state's export
growth has long been tied to the success of its three automakers,
particularly Mercedes-Benz, which exports about 65 percent of the
luxury vehicles built at its Vance factory.

Now, the German
company and its automaking rivals in Alabama -- Honda and Hyundai --
are emerging from a global sales slump and cranking up assembly lines
that had slowed dramatically since the industry crisis began in late
2008.

Overseas markets also are recovering from a worldwide financial crisis that tanked other export segments last year.

So far this year, many of Alabama's traditional exports, including
soybeans, iron pipes, chemicals and forestry products, are showing
significant growth over 2009, said Hilda Lockhart, director of ADO's
International Trade Division.

"I just hope this continues
throughout the remainder of the year," she said. "We're really trying
to help our companies find new partners overseas and bring us out of
this downturn."

Nationally, exports are up 22 percent over
last year, Lockhart added, so Alabama's 32 percent growth does seem to
be a bright spot in the state economy.

But sustaining the
growth will be a challenge, as a new financial crisis spreads in Europe
and the red-hot Chinese economy is expected to cool, said Keivan
Deravi, an economist at Auburn University at Montgomery.

Last year's banking crisis has spread to the governments of several
European countries, including Greece, Spain and Portugal, now all
struggling under massive debt. Meanwhile, the value of the euro is
falling against the dollar, meaning U.S.-made goods are more expensive
there.

"What's going on in Europe is really putting a damper
on what the demand is going to be there in the future," Deravi said.
"If Mercedes is sending a lot of M-Classes to Austria or Belgium, the
significant drop in the value of the euro is going to be a problem for
sustaining the growth of exports."

For example, even with
the growth in overall auto exports so far this year, the value of
state-made vehicles shipped to Germany is still sinking, by 25 percent
from 2009.

Because of the ties to Mercedes, Germany remains
the No. 2 market for Alabama auto exports. But export growth hit
triple-digit percentages and beyond in the other top five markets,
including No. 1 Canada, mainland China, Mexico and the United Kingdom.

Another reason for the impressive growth in Alabama's total exports
this year is that the comparison point of last year was such a
miserable time, Deravi said.

"2009, at least the first half of 2009, was such a dismal year that any year would look absolutely fantastic," he said.

Indeed, 2010 has a ways to go when it's compared to a previous banner year for Alabama exports.

If the current pace of export value -- about $4.8 billion during the
first four months of this year -- is maintained during the rest of
2010, the $14.4 billion total would still fall short of the $15.9
billion reported in 2008.

In 2009, total exports plunged to
$12.4 billion, as automakers in the state slashed output by extending
holidays and shortening workweeks for employees.

Rising demand These days, however, they're working overtime to keep up with rising demand.

For Mercedes, the bulk of the growth for its Alabama-built vehicles is
in Asian economies, especially China and India, as well as South
America.

Hyundai, meanwhile, ships its Montgomery-made
vehicles to Canada, Puerto Rico and Guam. So far this year, about 16
percent of the plant's output has been exported, with the vast majority
going to Canada.

At Honda's Lincoln plant, less than 10
percent of the vehicles built there are exported, primarily to Mexico,
Canada, Central and South America and the Middle East.

Exports won't be a savior for Alabama's economy, which is grappling
with high unemployment and deep tax revenue shortfalls in the wake of
the U.S. recession.

But they do help businesses grow and
eventually add jobs, said Ahmad Ijaz, an economist at the Center for
Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama.

In 2008, exports accounted for about 12 percent of the overall state economy, he said.